Starting vs. Eric Staal: ‘Wow’

Starting the game was pretty unbelievable. I was pretty surprised when coach said I was starting. Then when I got out there and saw Eric Staal was the other center starting for Carolina, it was like, ‘wow.’

I looked over at Jordin Tootoo, and said, ‘Wow, first faceoff against Eric Staal?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, it’s pretty cool.’ That was pretty cool, and to win it was even more special.

During the game, I was kind of more focused on not messing up. When I checked my phone after the game, I had about 20-25 text messages.

After I left the arena, I saw my family at the hotel and said hi to them. We talked about the whole experience and everything I did and how cool it was and how fun it was.